Power-transmitting mechanism.



No. 7l4,732. Y Patented Dec.'2,19(.'|2.

s. L. mccoLLocfl, Decd.

"1F. McCOLLOCH. Administrator. POWER TRANSMITT'ING MECHANISM.

(Application filed Feb. 24 1902.)

(No llodoLi 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

No. 714,732 r v Patented Dec.2, I902.

*s. L. mccoLLocH, 'Dcd.

u. FQMcGOLLDGH. Administrator. POWER,TRANSMITTINGMECHANISM,

(Application filed Feb. 24, 1902.1

(no Modal.)

Z'ShTgtzgS' eat F Ill UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MILLARD F. MOCOLLOOH, OF WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA, ADMINISTRATOR OF SIMON L. MCCOLLOGH, DECEASED, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO CATHERINE E. MOOOLLOCH, OF WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA, AND JOHN G. BRANT, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

POWER-TRANSMITTING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 714,732, dated December 2, 1902. Application filed February 24, 1902. Serial No. 95,450. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that SIMON L. McCoLLooH, deceased, late a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Wheeling, in the county of Ohio and State of West Virginia, was the inventor of certain new and useful Improvements in Power-Transmitting Mechanism, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying IO drawings, forming part of this specification,

in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a mowing-machine, illustrating one application of the invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, the handle 1 5 being broken away. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line III III of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view, on an enlarged scale, indicated by the line IV IV of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic side view illustrateo ing the successive engagement of the drivingrollers with the spiral gear, showing the relative. positions of the rollers as arranged fora constant-degree spiral. Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view indicated by the line VI VI of e 5 Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic detail view,on an enlarged scale, illustrating the successive engagement of regularly-spaced driving-rollers with a variable-degree spiral gear. Fig. 8

is a diagrammatic view illustrating the changing pitch of such variable-degree spiral gear. This invent-ion relates to improvements in means for transmitting motion through and from any rotary source of power, as a traction-wheel, adapted to roll upon a stationary 3 5 surface, as the ground, and to convert the rotating movement of the traction-wheel into reciprocating movement by means of the gear ing arranged and adapted to operate in the manner shown in the drawings and which shall now he described. I

The invention is illustrated as applied to a mowing-machine adapted to utilize a reciprocating knife-blade 2, operated by a pitman 3 from a crank 4, mounted upon the outer 5 end of the shaft 5, supported in a suitable cased, and preferably mounted at each end upon ball or roller bearings 7 7, which are adjustable by means of thimbles or hearingcones 8 of well-known construction. Rigidly secured upon the shaft 5 is a spiral gear 9, the spiral groove 10 of which is single and having a pitch according to the speed or power to be utilized from the apparatus, so that the inferior portion at one side is opposite and approximately corresponds to the superior portion of the other side. Into the inferior spiral portion of the gear are designed to project from each side operating-rollers 11, rotatably mounted upon screw-studs or any suitable bearings 12, rigidly set in oppositelylocated disks or heads 13 13, which disks are rigidly mounted upon the main shaft 14:, upon which are also mounted the traction-Wheels 15 15, by which the entire machine is supported and which are adapted to impart rotatory motion to shaft 14 by traction.

Thecase 6, which may be of any suitable form, is in the present construction extended and arranged so as to entirely inclose the gearing, the upper portion 16 being prefer- 7o ably removable for the purpose of inspection or oiling of the parts.

The rollers 11,as is likewise the spiral groo ve 10, are preferably slightly tapered, so as to facilitate the entrance and exit of the rollers, and such construction is also of advantage in strengthening the parts. The rollers on one side are approximately opposite to the spaces between the rollers on the other side, which arrangement is of great advantage and efficiency, as it will be seenthat power-imparting force is exerted against the downwardly-traveling contacting faces of the spiral gear on one side and against the upwardlytraveling contacting faces of the spiral gear on the other side, at the same time equalizing the pressure upon the spiral gear, distributing it throughout, equalizing the strain upon the rollers, reducing the friction, and resulting in an even continuous transmission of rotatory movement of the disks 13to the shaft 5.

The equalization of strain, the reduction of friction, and the application of the power simultaneously on both sides of the spiral 5 gear have given in practice practical results greatly in excess of those possible with the application of a single row of bearing rollers intermediate position.

or buttons on one side only, and such greatlyincreased results are largely due to the double application of the imparting power in the manner just described.

A further feature of novelty and advantage is in the relative arrangement of the center of the shaft 14 to the body portion of the spiral gear 9, the greater portion of which, as is clearly shown, is on one side of the center of the shaft 14 and disks 13 or in a direction beyond the advancing travel of the rollers 11. For the purpose of clearly demonstrating such arrangement the vertical line w x is drawn through the center of the roller-wheels and through the spiral gear at right angles to shaft 5. The object of such arrangement is that the entrance of the rollers into the spiral groove is thereby facilitated, while their bearing against the contacting faces of the spiral groove is at a more efficient angle at the central position and beyond it than in approaching such central position. The rollers therefore in passing beyond the central position have a greater time engagement before passing out of the spiral gear than they have from the time of entering until arriving at the central position. This will be fully understood from the diagrammatic View shown in Fig. 5,wherein the rollers (shown in dotted lines) of the front are indicated by the letter a, whereas those on the back side are indicated by the letter I).

When a spiral gear of regular or uniform pitch is used, it becomes necessary to arrange the rollers on one side slightly in advance of the position midway between the rollers on the other side byreason of the fact that after passing the vertically-central point of en gagement the rollers will swing upwardly and must therefore be slightly beyond such intermediate position in order to have a hearing contact with the correspondingly higher and therefore farther advanced portion of the spiral groove. This will be fully understood by reference to Fig. 5, wherein the front rollers a are positioned in the line of direction of the wheel somewhat beyond such It will be understood that with a wheel running in the opposite direction the greater portion of the spiral gear will be positioned in the other direction from the median line :1: 0a and that the position of the rollers of one side with relation to those of the other will be reversed.

Very satisfactory results have been secured in practice by the form of spiral gear shown in Fig. 7, the spiral of which is not uniform, but varies-4 e., the pitch of the gear from the median line as w gradually changes or becomes quicker. This will be fully understood'by reference to Fig. 8, wherein is shown in diagram an exaggerated representation of the spiral line. Commencing at the median line 00 m, the spiral curve gradually flattens, its rise being steadily reduced, as indicated by the dimension-letters z z z z 2 2 and in the actual gear as made according to this principle the width of the superior. portion or the wall between the grooves will gradually become narrower, the width of the groove or inferior portion remaining uniform. The advantage of such construction is that the time engagement of the rollers'is lengthened, while the rollers themselves may be regularly spaced on opposite sides, the variation of the pitch of the spiral gear compensating for the necessity of advancing the rollers, as has been described, to properly intermesh with the spiral of uniform pitch, so that they may.

be regularly alternately spaced, as shown in Fig. 7.

It will be understood that the spiral gear may be either right-handed or left-handed and that the diameter and width of the grooves, the pitch-diameter of the disks 13, as well as the sizes or design of the rollers, may be varied within wide limits and according, to the objects in view, and therefore the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular construction shown and described, but to include all such changes and variations as may be made by the skilled mechanic within the scope of the claims.

It is known that various power-transmitting mechanism have been patented in which spiral gears have been used, and it is not considered that it is broadly new to transmit rotary power from traction-wheels through spiral gearing, but it is believed that said SIMON L. MCGOLLOOH was the first to design and utilize the features of mechanism included in the present invention in the manner set forth andwhereby he was enabled to secure the results ofwhich this invention is capable and its great advantages andsuperiority over all other similar constructions known.

Having described the invention, what is claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

1. In mechanism for transmitt'ng motion,

the combination of a driven shaft, a spiral gear secured thereon,a transversely-arranged shaft provided with disks located at each side of the spiral gear, annularly-arranged driving-rollers mounted on the disks and adapted to engage the groove of the spiral gear on opposite sides, the rollers on one side being located slightly beyond a position midway between the rollers on the opposite side in the direction of their travel in entering the groove, substantially as set forth.

2. In mechanism for transmitting motion, the combination of a driving-shaft provided with disks with inwardly-extending annularly-arranged driving-rollers mounted on the disks, and a driven shaft provided with a spiral gear located between the disks and in engagement with the rollers thereon, the pitch of the spiral gear being varied so as to become successively more abrupt in the direction of travel of the driving-rollers, substantially as set forth.

3. In mechanism of the class described, in combination with oppositely-located circular able pitch adapted to be engaged by the rollers and to be rotated thereby, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MILLARD F. MOCOLLOCH, Administrator of the estate of Simon L. Mc-

O'olloch, deceased.

CHAS. W. BARRICK,

Witnesses: l W. P. ROBINSON. 

